Twin Skies
by Hakuei Shirei
Summary: "Tsuna grows up with a little sister and loving sibling. As for Chiyo, she's just happy to finally get the warm if strange family and the loving sibling she's always wanted." or: The AU where Tsuna gets a somewhat odd if loving sibling rather than an abusive one (and while their 'dad' is still an absentee father, he still tries his best). Inspired by WizardsGirl's "Dearly Beloved".
1. Children of the Sky

**Author's Note** : Finally getting around to posting this here. For those that don't know, this is the rewrite for the pilot in my KHR! Scraps, "Sunny with a Chance". It's also cross-posted under my pseud, **kohaku_shi** , on AO3 as an actual series.

The original premises for the story was inspired by the fic "Dearly Beloved" written by WizardsGirl.

Just so you all know, there will be potential cross-over elements and/or cameo's in the future. Certain elements will definitely be different from the original "Prototype" version, while others will remain the same. This is also a pseudo-SI/OC insert in which Tsuna gains a twin sister. There _will_ be canon divergences, even if it's slow in coming (as said, it's slow build), and may end up being somewhat perspective change heavy.

Also, a warning, there will be potentially heavy codependency —at least at first.

All other notes will be pushed to the bottom to avoid any possible spoilers.

Now, without further a-do, the story...

* * *

 **— Twin Skies: Children of the Sky —**

* * *

The day that Sawada Tsunayoshi was born, Iemitsu and Nana were both ecstatic.

Or rather, Iemitsu was ecstatic. Nana was simply tired and sore by the end of it. Of course, she was still quite happy with the results, practically aglow with motherhood as she was. Even more so when it turned out that all the pain, blood, sweat and tears had been more than entirely worth it.

She'd managed to bring two such beautiful babies into the world, after all!

Needless to say, Iemitsu was absolutely over the moon … After a bout of worry for his beloved wife's condition at the strain of giving birth to two children at once, especially considering it was the first time. Still, when even his so-called Vongola Intuition hadn't pinged, he ended up not thinking on it too much. Instead, spending his time by her side giving the love of his life his heartfelt feelings and honest flattery.

"As expected of my Nana! Two precious, perfect babies…!" The usually loud and exuberant man's voice was hushed, starry eyes staring down at his sleeping newborns. Their children. His and Nana's oh-so-precious offspring…

Tears welled. Iemitsu sniffed, refusing to let his watering eyes drip as he rubbed his nose. Just barely avoiding the tears that so wanted to spill as he practically beamed at his growing family. His beautiful, if tired but smiling wife and his babies, a precious little boy and girl.

And in that moment, despite having originally not having any particular attachment or care for children (or at least, he'd never really cared before he'd met his beautiful Nana ), he found himself thinking that the two tiny little bundles, wrinkled and red-faced as they were…

Well, they were definitely the most beautiful things he had ever seen (outside of Nana, that was).

Nana just giggled, the sound tired but warm, reaching out with a radiant smile, so that she could pull both of her precious babies close. Though the fact she'd had twins had been a surprise (they'd only been expecting one , after all), she still loved them both all the same. Her precious baby girl and little boy…

It was really a good thing they'd had names prepared for either gender. Tsunayoshi for the boy, and for a girl…

Chiyohime.

Her little prince and tiny princess.

"My Tsu-kun and Chi-chan…" she murmured, leaning against Iemitsu when he pulled himself onto the edge of the bed, reaching an arm to wrap firmly around her shoulders to both help her up as well as simply to hold his newfound family.

Two pairs of eyes filled with tears, staring lovingly down at their precious offspring.

"My beautiful, beautiful babies…" she whispered.

 **— Twin Skies: Children of the Sky —**

In the suburban town of Namimori, stood a relatively well cared for it middle class home. The Sawada House, standing at two stories also held a modest yard along with a more modern appeal, housing several full time members along with a single oft-absent parent that worked overseas.

It was here that one Sawada Nana lived with her two precious **—** if precocious **—** children along with the occasional pet.

As things were, it was a normal morning for the Sawada Household. Beginning, as usual, with the smell of breakfast permeating the home as a cheerful Nana cooked, the scent reaching even those in the bedrooms upstairs where the two other members currently in residence slept.

Or, well, would have, if not for the incessant high pitched beeping of a certain messy haired brunette's alarm.

* * *

"Tsu-nii, if you don't wake up right- **...** right now, we'll be late," a yawn cut through the sleepy voice not quite muffled by the door it was speaking through.

A plate with the characters for Tsuna, marked in slightly disproportionate if careful penmanship, hung on said door. It was clearly well worn if well-loved by the fact that it had been repainted more recently, along with the new string replacing the originally fraying piece that hung the fish shaped plaque.

A low sound like a grumble responded, its owner giving a half sigh as he burrowed further into his bed sheets, trying to ignore the alarm still beeping over the soft and -to his ears- ever pleasant voice. It wasn't Kyoko-chan levels of 'music' to his ears, but then, having known it for all of his prepubescent life, how could he not recognize and know who it was? Even sleep muddled as he may be.

A tick appeared on the still sleepy if awakened girl (fighting another yawn and rubbing a sleep crusted amber eye as she did so) outside his room. The room across from his had been left open, door ajar. A bright if pastel and white painted flowery plaque with the katakana for Chiyo hanging similarly on the otherwise identical door.

"Nii-chan~~" She pout, drawing out the syllables, as she knocked on his door, "If you don't turn it off and get up, I'm gonna come in!"

Mentally giving her brother until the count of three, the now somewhat cross female huffed at the lack of reaction. Finally giving up as she forcefully opened the door. "Tsu-nii…!"

" 'm up, 'm up…!" He responded, clearly still half asleep as he fumbled for the alarm set on top of his shelved headboard and next to his reading lamp. Someone more knowledgeable about such things would have called it a slant-backed bookcase headboard, but it wasn't as if Tsuna -or Chiyo- particularly cared.

Reaching past several manga and light novels carelessly piled on the piece of furniture, it took him a moment to find, let alone turn it off in his dazed state. He nearly flopped back over again, narrowly avoiding his head on hardwood as he remembered that doing so would not end with him landing on his oh-so-comfy bed, but in pain and misery had he not been just conscious enough to do so.

Chiyohime sighed. Neither of them were morning people, but that didn't mean it always had to be her waking him up! More importantly, if he was just going to ignore his alarm, what was even the point of setting it? Clearly more awake that her brother, Chiyo just made to pull his bed sheets off, knowing that he'd only trip in the amusingly tangled covers if she didn't, considering his still barely conscious (and blind) state.

"Tsu-nii, it's time to get up," she reminded him, pulling at the messy covers was more effort than she would have liked to use in the mornings. Especially since she hadn't exactly had time to do anything other than find her gloriously soft and fuzzy slippers since getting out of bed. (Why one of them always seemed to disappear even without her actually doing anything at night was a mystery to her. Or would have been, if not for the fact that she was pretty sure she knew exactly why they always seemed to want to disappear under her blankets in the middle of the night... It wasn't like she was any less a messy sleeper than her brother, after all. She just had more of a tendency to end up losing said layers than to get tangled in them, as they tossed and turned at night...which was really part of the reason why the two had stopped sleeping together as kids.

Though ironically, it meant they were left a wide berth by the other kids during nap times because they were both such messy sleepers… as expected of twins. So alike despite their differences…)

If her brother could do with less layers due to tangling himself up so well, then Chi had a tendency to need more because she was always losing them. (And waking up because of how cold it was afterwards.)

Tsuna mumbled something unintelligible, earning a roll of the eyes from his sibling. "Geez, Tsu-nii, I'm not joking. If you...don't...get up...now, then…-!"

A yelp just a bit more effeminate than her brother's reached his ears, the not-quite-shriek (it was too early for their vocal chords to work that efficiently) alarming him enough to shoot up, pain his only companion as he finally found himself tripping over the bedding tangled around his legs as he landed just to the side of his sibling. His own exclamation echoing hers at the sudden, unbalancing movement.

"Ahhh… that hurt~!" Tears naturally sprung into her eyes, pouting as she hesitated over whether to rub her back or her head as she hit the side of her brother's kotatsu-like coffee table. The two often used it for projects and to work on homework or study together, leaving his actual study desk for other things **—** like the occasional craft hobby or model making.

"O-Ow… Chi-chan…?" Startled and disoriented by his own shocking wake-up, Tsuna squint through sand crusted eyes at the figure in front of him.

"Eh…" Resisting the urge to make another pained noise, Chiyo looked up, rubbing her head since the pain was much sharper there. "Morning, Nii… If you're finally awake we should get moving," she pointed out, straightening as she got up and winced at the movement.

Honestly, she was more surprised that she hadn't lost enough brain cells to function with all the 'accidents' she and her brother had, whether from carelessness or just natural clumsiness.

Rubbing at his sleep crusted eyes (ugh, gross, sand), he squint and gave her a sheepish look as he realized what happened. "Good Morning to you too, Chi-chan…" He sweat, earning a glare that looked more like a disgruntled pout (cute) rather than the scary glare it could have been.

Eh? Sis-con? Whatever could you be talking about? Ahahaha… Really, he had no idea where that could have possibly come from...

Huffing but clearly too used to it to be bothered anymore, Chiyohime pout, rubbing at the lessening though still sharp pain in her skull.

"Sorry… Are you okay, Chi?" Standing and straightening himself up as well, with an almost weak smile, he lifted his arms in offer of a hug.

"...You're lucky I really do love you," she finally huffed after waiting just long enough to make things feel just a little awkward, before burrowing into her brother's arms at the offer before he could start lowering his arms.

Despite the grumble, she was clearly enjoying the hug for all it was worth and might even have purred if she were capable of it. Instead, being wholly human, the closest she got was a slight hum, especially when Tsuna started running his fingers through her hair in a near imitation of a brush, neatening some of the mess that, unlike his own, was far tamer and at least manageable...to an extent.

Tsuna just chuckled, earning a light shove and a tongue childishly stuck out at him in petty revenge as he laughed. "Like you could ever hate me," he teased, eyes glowing in the warmth of the reminder of why he was resolved to do whatever he could to protect (and take care of) the ones he loved.

After all, No matter what happened, they both instinctively knew they could never hate each other. (Though they'd later learn that instinctive 'knowing' wasn't necessarily just because they shared such a close bond after all.)

Flustered Sienna looked away, a(n in his mind, absolutely adorable) pout on her face.

"W-well, you know what they say about twins!" She stuttered, face flaming despite herself and clearly far more awkward on the social spectrum than even he could be, flustered despite her earlier pettiness. "It'd be bad if I hated myself, after all!" Forcefully turning her head had away as she ignored the look of amusement sibling's face with a huff.

"Yes, yes, just as you say, Chi-chan~" He smirked, eyes more goldenrod than its usual amber as he watched his twin fondly. And since he was, it was quite easy to catch the slight, if somewhat embarrassed smile that twitched into existence. Her expression softening into something equally warm.

The moment might have lasted as long as forever if not for the sudden —if cheery and familiar— call breaking through.

"Tsu-kun~ Chi-chan~ Breakfast is ready~!" Nana called, oblivious but somehow still feeling that warm sense of content even down in the kitchen as she bustled about.

Tsuna and Chiyo exchanged a look, only to break out laughing soon after. The sound clear enough and traveling easily enough that even Nana could hear it from where she was.

"Oh, my, it sounds like they're in such a good mood… How wonderful!" She sighed contently, a happy smile on her face…

Now if only her husband could be around to enjoy it, too.

No doubt things would be even livelier if he were...!

* * *

The first time she'd floated into the sea of consciousness, she had been beyond confused.

Not only did she have no idea where she was, but she didn't even know what was going on either.

Had she been in an accident?

Was it blunt force trauma that was causing her state?

Disoriented as she was, she could barely even think straight let alone for very long or even coherently.

Fearful and confused, she'd been a taut bundle of nerves. Anxiously worrying over what had happened...was happening… let alone being able to guess or even touch upon the idea of 'rebirth'.

If anything, it was more likely she'd ended up in a coma of some kind.

Still, in the end, what did it matter? There was nothing she could do, and there was the ever lingering feeling of being so, so tired. Sleepiness constantly pulled at the edges of her mind, as it seemed she was only conscious for barely a moment before she was pulled under once more. Her consciousness dragging the more effort she put in to remember, thoughts swimming in syrup as she, ironically, stressed herself into oblivion.

When she finally stopped to just feel, though, it would be then, in those moments, that she would later recall best of her muddled end -or perhaps, better said, a new beginning...

Warmth. All she could feel was the warmth. Surrounded by said warmth, and surprisingly loving if indistinct murmurs beyond what she could even hear or understand.

It was almost as if she were stuck behind some thick film-like barrier as she drifted, ever reaching, ever failing. It was only those warm feelings, like a blanket or a coddling presence, that would finally calm her, to let her rest easy in an otherwise uneasy situation.

But just as it pulled at her heartstrings, warming her very being, it would bring about a sense of melancholy as she remembered things that were, perhaps, better left unsought.

Because no matter how warm and loving the auras and murmurs, that feeling of warmth, it would always remind her of the very thing that it should have, but that she'd never truly had.

The feeling of love and family, of familial and unconditional care and bonds…

One that had rarely ever happened in her own reality, broken shards of what should and could have been, a memory of family that into her each time she remembered. And every time, it would be with a strangely bitter heart, and a warm if clingy presence (one she found herself clinging to in return) that she would fall under again.

And even if she were the type to disbelieve such things, it almost felt like...well, it was almost as if she had a guardian spirit coddling her, pulling at her when she needed it, and remaining even when she didn't. A steady presence that liked to remind her...

She was not alone.

(Not Anymore…and... Not Ever Again…)

* * *

The next time she was conscious enough to think, to 'wake up' so to speak, her sight had improved. The strange film on her senses either thinning or lessening in what felt like layers. Or, perhaps, more accurately, it was as if she was no longer surrounded by darkness. (By her own dark thoughts.)

Vague figures (colorless, if still, somehow, easy enough to make out despite being more similar to vague blobs) moved around her. Light and shadow mixing as if to create some other strange, and even inkblot-like shapes.

She was alone (not alone). And latching onto any possible distraction, she did what she could to amuse herself in this place where she was yet wasn't. A sense of amusement (her own? another's?) followed, pushing otherwise negative (anxious, nervous, fearful, and even worrying) thoughts back.

Or, it did until her consciousness slipped again.

A feeling akin to being 'welcomed back' followed, as she melded into the surprisingly comforting not-void as she'd come to call it later. Just as she's soon forget as time passed and more important things became more important, hovering at the forefront of her mind.

(But she'd never forget the feelings that accompanied it, ever.)

And by the time she was able to really think, to feel 'alive' again, things would have changed so much that she wasn't sure if she was having a particularly lucid if odd dream, or if she'd simply always been in a dream.

(A Man or A Butterfly, a voice whispered in the darkness, distant and mocking yet gentle and warm somehow all the same.)

It wouldn't matter though, as she sunk back into a sleep-like state, the distant sound of a warm lullaby and the familiar presence at her side calming her anxious heart.

* * *

Once it had been deemed safe for mother and both children to finally leave the hospital, Iemitsu did his best to stick around for as long as he could. Taking all the saved vacation time that he'd barely ever made use of (aside from when he was forced to, and even then the bare minimum...ironically meeting his now-wife during one of them) on top of paternity leave to care for his wife and kids.

After all, even if they were good babies, they were still babies . Babies that cried, couldn't take care of themselves, and required a lot more care than a single mother (especially one that was still in postpartum stages, and would be for a while yet, as he'd been warned by the doctors) could give or handle on her own. Let alone two of them.

It went without saying that the newly minted father felt guilty, too, knowing that when he finally had to leave, the care would all fall into the hands of his beautiful, strong Nana.

Even so, the months seemed to pass so quickly that even despite the fact that so much time had passed, it still felt like almost yesterday that his precocious little treasures had been born.

Besides, no matter how understanding his boss was (especially with their line of business), there was only so much time he could take away from his work. He did still have to support his family, as well. And he'd already taken over a year off as it was (going so far as to do what work he could over that distance for as long as he could. It wouldn't last of course, but at least he was trying ).

He'd forced himself not to think about it at first, wholeheartedly throwing himself into caring for Nana and the twins (mostly the twins, though that didn't mean he neglected his strong and lovely Nana. He'd been warned about postpartum depression by the doctors. Repeatedly even, after all. And while there were days he'd had to make up for Nana's share of the childcare, he still did his best. Because he loved them. Nana and the twins. And Nana was already so strong for getting through childbirth, and finally the postpartum depression even while doing her best to take care of them at the same time… but he was digressing).

As the days towards his return got closer, though, he couldn't help but to worry. Had it been only one child, then sure. He wouldn't have been nearly as concerned. Nana was strong, she would have (probably) managed. It was his darling Nana, after all!

But with two… Even with the both of them taking turns, or taking one at a time and swapping (mostly to be fair to both twins and spouse) to give each child the care they needed, Iemitsu had come to realize that even one child was a lot of work. Far more than he'd expected or ever could have suspected. (He was almost glad they'd had twins, now that he knew. Because no matter how he could've denied it, there was no way he would have realized how much work even on was otherwise. That didn't mean he wasn't still worried, though.)

His precious Tsu-kun, while a good boy and an excellent child, still cried a lot despite his mostly quiet and unobtrusive nature (for a baby —or so he'd been told). Thankfully, he'd never be lonely, though. Not with Nana, himself, and his little princess around!

Speaking of his little princess, though, Chiyo, while even more quiet at times (if that was even possible), would often seem to fall into a daze or get distracted. Otherwise becoming even more emotional, sometimes crying for seemingly no reason. Or maybe it was Tsuna, and they both ended up crying because when one cried, so, usually, did the other.

Either way, though, even if she ended up being an airhead (as her supposed dazes and distractions seemed to indicate), he'd still love her! She was his precious little princess, his Hime-chan, after all! Bwahaha-!

Ahem. In any case, though he'd been rather worried about her behavior at first, the doctors had found nothing wrong with her, theorizing that she was simply an introspective baby, so he'd have to trust in that. (And though, he'd have really preferred to have one of his doctors check on them. It wasn't like like any of them really specialized in pediatrics. They were mafia after all, y'know? Even an idiot he knew that that would just be a stupid idea, anyway. And far too risky, besides.)

In the end, though, it would be his beloved (beautiful, strong, understanding, darling ) Nana that would end up pushing him to go. It was clear that she would have preferred him to stay, but she understood, even without being told the truth, that no matter how much he wanted to, he'd still have to go in the end.

He had to support the family, after all. And it wasn't like he could just retire. There was still the fact that his next choice of boss would still have to finish undergoing training to take over for him, among with a few other semantics. He'd still have to find another job afterwards, and even then it wasn't like he could write External Mafia Intelligence and Consultancy Boss on his resume. And now, especially when Nana had no choicebut to be a stay-at-home mother (not that he would have forced her to work, what kind of man would that make him? It was his job to provide for the family, after all! ...or so he'd been raised to believe). It wasn't like she could just leave two infants -nearly toddlers- to their own devices, after all.

If she wanted to get a job then, by Primo, she could do so later (not that she needed to...unless -again- she wanted to, that was), though that time would be far off regardless. Children weren't pets after all. They took far longer to grow and mature, even just to be able to vocalize their thoughts and feelings with simple words and/or phrases. Taking care of themselves? Even if Japan encouraged self sufficiency, it would still be quite a few years coming.

(Ironic, how time had seemed to pass so quickly, and yet…)

So it was, that Nana, tears in her eyes (and his, not that he'd admit it), saw him off. It would be years before he could come back. And by then, he would have missed so many milestones and been gone for so long that the two precious treasures of his heart, the twins that he loved so, so much ...wouldn't even recognize him.

Being called a stranger and a 'bad person' before he could even, finally, set foot into the house… of course it would hurt, especially considering this was a man who was such a devoted husband and parent (wife-and-child-complex aside).

Even if it was at least partly his fault (even if it couldn't really be helped —civilian tech wasn't exactly advanced enough, even if the Mafia was, to keep in touch over long distances outside of a landline or international snail mail, after all), that didn't mean it didn't still break the poor man's heart! (It was probably the only time he'd ever come close to admitting to his tears...for now, anyways.)

Then again, it was -again- at least partially his own fault for forgetting the passing of time, losing track despite the fact that he did his best to remember and called as often as he could (which, really, was surprisingly rare considering how much he loved his family. Though still, at least, somewhat understandable considering his circumstances…)

Still, with Iemitsu gone, it fell to Nana to do her best to take care of her children… and take as many pictures as he could to show her absent husband when he finally came back! (And videos, later, but that was another story.)

She was grateful that Iemitsu had managed to stay as long as he had, and had at least gotten to help her get over the postpartum stages without as much trouble as she might have had, if he'd left as early as had originally been planned for. (Less vacation time now, meant more visits later, and vice versa, after all.)

It didn't mean that it didn't… hurt when he wasn't there to enjoy those milestones, though. Or when he got so busy he could barely find the time to call, other than to just let her know that he was still well and still cared.

Even if he called as frequently as he could in the beginning, wanting to check on both Nana and the children. Both worry and heartache from missing his family so, even as things eventually got busier and the times between calls grew longer and longer… (Lal Mirch hadn't been amused when she'd found out how much the phone bill had cost that first month. Especially considering he'd called to check every spare moment he could while not under the watchful eyes of certain CEDEF, let alone Mafia members.)

She could only really be glad (she was so, so grateful) that she had two such wonderful children to keep her company. Even as young as they were.

* * *

 **End Notes** : Unfortunately, the scene breaks I use on AO3 don't work on Fanfiction, so I had to change them to the plain ones above.

More importantly, a condensed explanation of things to know for this story. You can skip it or not, since it can be considering trivia, too, I guess.

— Name: For those that don't know, or are unaware, in Japanese history, Tokugawa Iemitsu was said to have a daughter named "Chiyohime". Assuming that Tsuna and Iemitsu's names are a not towards the Tokugawa Shogunate Family, Tsuna's twin would most likely be named something from said bloodline. Hence the reason for Chiyo's name.

— Birthdays: Tsuna and Chiyo will both be -or, well, still be- born in October. However, I'm still trying to decide their actual day of birth, though that's been tabled for now. Just thought you should all be aware that their birthday won't necessarily be on the 14th, since the divergence is only supposed to really begin from the point of their birth (or technically, their conception).

All you really need to know is that they'll be born in October and still fall under the horoscope of Libra, along with being birthed within twenty-four hours of each other at most. (First time childbirth is said to be most difficult, even with modern conveniences.)

— Flames: They'll both still be Skies, though secondaries won't necessarily be the same. Partly to balance each other out.

As example, let's say that Tsuna were to be more inclined towards Sun, Lightning, and/or Storm flames. If that were the case, then Chiyo would be more inclined towards the remaining three (Cloud, Mist, and/or Rain). Of course, this is not necessarily how it's going to go.

As seen with Gokudera, it's possible to have a strong enough secondary —and even tertiaries— to make proper use of flames that aren't your main. And Xanxus proves that Skies can have secondaries too.

Said Secondaries and possible Tertiaries are still up in the air for the most part, but I am leaning more towards certain flames, and at least one has been set for plot purposes already. (It's actually part of the reason for the rewrite rather than simply continuing from the Pilot.) After all, the twins (gender aside) both are and consider themselves to be two halves a whole.

I did mention earlier that there would/may be some codependency —for awhile, at least— though the reasoning won't be explained or shown until later on. It's not healthy, and it's not meant to be or even seem so.

Finally, I do believe I've mentioned this before already, but though similar to the original Pilot/Prototype version of "Sunny with a Chance" there are differences in the plot and premise. One of which was unfortunately different enough that certain things are definitely going to be very different here.

Whether I continue the pilot (mostly because of the differences) and post it as a separate AU of an AU, though, is another question altogether. For now, though, we'll end the explanations here. If there are more questions —and/or more things that you think I need to explain or point out more clearly— I'll do so as we go later. For now, though. Ciao-Ciao~!


	2. Toddler Days (Childhood Arc, Part I)

**Author's Note** : Okay. On a roll, now! Hopefully I can get everything cross-posted and get a new chapter out before the week is out.

Can't think of anything that _absolutely_ needs to be shared/noted/announced aside from the standard disclaimers, so...

Without further a-do, I present "Toddler Days" —the first of the Childhood Arc chapters!

* * *

 **— Twin Skies: Childhood Arc, Part I —**

* * *

Though it took her awhile, she was eventually able to stay awake for long enough periods of time to ruminate, senses sharpening enough for her to make her surroundings out. She still wasn't quite certain of her situation (seriously, was this a lucid dream? Though she'd had those before, ones that she wasn't sure of reality til she actually woke up, that didn't mean she could tell so easily in this situation).

It probably didn't help that her eyesight, though still 'better', was still a blur (not surprising, considering her sight had never been the best. Honestly, three or four —maybe five— inches was the clearest she got without her glasses, even before).

The only upside was that she could at least somewhat make her current situation out. Or was it more of a premise?

Despite her best efforts, though, she continued to become depressed in her efforts to resolve her uncertainties. Theories aside, though, if there was any truth to the saying that dreams could tell you something about a person… Then what did it say about her, that she would be dreaming of such a realistic (or so she assumed) toddler-hood with a loving family and an -apparently- older twin?

She didn't really want to know. (Though it didn't stop her from thinking about it anyway. Not like there was much better to do during her bouts of consciousness and apparently near endless 'free time'.)

Still, no matter how she tried to escape from it, the truth would always come out. If not to the world, then to someone, whether it ended up being herself or not.

That didn't mean it wasn't embarrassing beyond belief to find out that control of her new toddler's body was almost minimal at best, though. Unable to stop when her body started to cry, startling her new parents when what they'd assumed to be an atypically quiet child suddenly began wailing without cause.

It seemed the stimulation of conflicting and rising emotions really was too much for her now infant body, as she found herself suddenly at a 'disconnect' with her own body, for lack of a better description. Consciousness fading into the distant recesses of her mind, the last thing she'd hear would be the cries of her infant body.

And though it would take her a while, she would eventually realize that no, she wasn't dreaming. That this, all of this, was now her life. And though it'd take a bit longer to for her to connect the dots, she would eventually still end up at the conclusion that, somehow, some way, she had ended up in a situation where she'd been 'reborn' with the memories of (what was probably) her past life.

Or a past life, anyway.

After all, it wasn't like she could guarantee with absolute certainty that there hadn't been anything in between, or that, in fact, they really wereher own memories either.

(And really, she didn't want to think about that, because then it'd bring up even more questions to chew on. Like why her. And why those memories in particular. And since she had nothing to do but ponder in her 'free time', there was no doubt she would touch on it at some point anyway. For now, though? Well, she really didn't want to think about such things. Not only was it too complicated for an infant's mind, but it was too much of a headache as it was to begin with!)

Still, she wasn't one to reject a theory just because there was no proof either. And though it wasn't a completely ridiculous theory, there was neither proof to support or deny it. And though some theories might be sound enough if she really thought about it, that would only continue on with endless possibilities and circular logic going nowhere.

Thankfully, though, if there was one thing she could say she was sufficient with, it was that she'd always been good with simply going with the flow of things (no matter how much of a coward she could be). Whether it was needed or not, and whether it was considered a good thing or not.

(It wasn't like there hadn't been those that would assume it was more of a 'not thinking about it' or even thinking things through, if 'at all'.)

Besides, all she really could do was to accept things as they were at the moment anyway. Regardless of the hows and whys, it didn't change the fact that there was no point thinking too much about it now.

(There were no such things as 'absolute guarantees' in any world, let alone this one, after all…)

And so, regardless of the outcomes, all she could really do, what she finally decided on doing, was to simply take things as they came. Settling into becoming the 'Chi-chan' or 'Hime-chan' that her parents liked to think she was.

Slowly learning (or relearning) one of the few languages she'd tried to teach herself in another life (thank goodness for original Japanese dubbing with subtitles), she did her best to acclimate herself to this brand new world of hers.

And hey, at least she had a bit of an advantage in that she already had minimal understanding of it. Even if it took a while to figure out the newer and more unfamiliar words and terms.

(Seriously, though, the mind of an infant was honestly kind of frightening.)

Compared to her learning speed from 'before', the her of now, as an infant, was already picking things up at a much faster rate mentally if not physically. (Couldn't really do anything about a weak infant's body after all.)

Was it because babies were —typically speaking— blank slates? If so, then what would happen if they were educated from an even younger age. Seriously, wouldn't that make the oncoming generations of youth even smarter?

Or hey, maybe since they learned so much faster, they'd end up outstripping the actual educational systems…?

…

Ah, as she thought, that was scary to think about. Let's just not go there, huh?

It was mostly just a random joke of a theory to begin with, but when one really thought about it… Goodness, please don't take it too seriously, she was just joking about it. Really!

Honestly, she wasn't a conspiracy theorist...at least, not purposely.

(Really, she just just bored. Really, really bored. There was literally very little that a toddler could do aside from think and sleep, after all…)

Baby steps, though. All she could do now was to take things one small step at a time and she'd get where she needed to be...

Eventually...

Somehow.

Although she'd probably have to get to the point she could actually toddle to take those literal baby steps, but that didn't mean she couldn't still try.

(Really though, she wasn't joking when she said that babies had a lot of free time. Sense of passing time and naps aside —she refused to think about certain essential things that all babies went through prior to gaining even a modicum of self sufficiency— she was way too free in the mental department.)

Why did babies have to have such uncoordinated and unsteady little bodies? Even if she knew why, experiencing it was still…

Seriously. (This sort of thing…!)

How troubling.

* * *

But really, though. She honest to goodness could not wait to have enough motor function control and strength in her tiny, pudgy little body to do things on her own.

Being an adult stuck in a baby body was all but traumatizing okay? (Even considering that she purposely pushed such things into the back of her mind and tried to blank it out, if total erasure wasn't possible.)

She would be much, much happier when she could finally move about and, y'know, have some actual control of her own body. Properly. On her own.

Infant stages could literally not pass quickly enough. Even with her consciousness fading in and out of her current body at first. There was a lot that she neither needed to know nor needed to feel.

But honestly, when did babies grow out of infanthood and into their toddler years?

(She hadn't been joking in the slightest when she said she couldn't wait. Teething was already a pain to say the least, and...to be honest… that wasn't even the worst part of it all. No matter how painful and miserable it made her.)

Some things… Some things should really just be forgotten.

No joke.

* * *

Amber met Ochre, otherwise mirror images in all but expression stood before each other. The only other difference being a matter of styling as long brunette hair was done in either messy twin braids or a seemingly simple half-do, a messy bun pinned in place over a cascade of carefully straightened hair that still stubbornly curled at the edges.

Glee could be seen, very clearly written all over the face of the girl with messily braided hair. All but crowing, she grinned.

"See! I knew it! Nii looks so cute~! " she cooed, apparently heedless or just not minding the mess her own hair seemed to be, crooked and unevenly tied bows at the ends of them (the attempts of her clumsier half to plait her hair into low pigtail braids).

He'd get better with practice, but for now, he'd done his best, and that was already more than good enough for her!

"Hiiiih-! That's not a good thing, Chiyo!" Half horrified, her twin flailed, too upset to stick to the usual nicknames he liked to use for his sibling. "Not to mention… I thought it was just supposed to be hair?! Why am I wearing a skirt! " the child all but screeched.

Chiyohime, best known as either Chiyo, Chi, or Hime for the most part, only giggled. Not quite responding, though it was clearly his own fault for simply agreeing and going along with mother and daughter without actually paying attention to what they were doing.

"Oh come on, Tsu-na-nii...or maybe I should be calling you Tsu-nee instead from now on~?" she mused, ignoring the pout on his face.

(He was sulking, sulking, okay! Boys don't pout! The poor boy insisted, even if only to himself, clearly in denial... And unaware of just how much like his father he was in that moment -girly outfit and wig aside.)

(Somewhere, a certain blonde may have sneezed, hard enough to scatter the paperwork on his desk and incur a certain pint-sized ex-COMBUSIN teacher's wrath at that.)

"Yeah, well… If I'm cute, then...then that means Chi-chan's even cuter! " He exclaimed, pointing at her with a decisive 'so there, ha!' expression on his face. As if that changed anything.

Deadpanning at her twin's antics (and weak retorts **—** but then, he could never seem to bear to make either his mother or sibling upset, the big softie), she retorted, "We're twins, Tsu-nii…" A beat, and then, "But I suppose that just means we're both cute," she decided, nodding sagely as if all the problems had been solved, too amused to be bothered about being considered cute (then again, that seemed to be a brush painted over all children, so she didn't mind it for now at least).

Tsuna just shrieked, gripping his head.

"That's not what I meant!" He cried out, half torn between exasperation and despair. That hadn't been what he'd meant by it at all, and she knew it, he thought, the giggle in her voice clear to anyone who cared to see it.

"Ah-! Don't do that! Tsu-nii, you'll shift the wig!" This time it was Chiyo's turn to exclaim, not quite upset but still chasing after her twin when he shrieked and started to run.

(He might not have minded playing dress-up, considering the estrogen outnumbered him two to one, but that didn't mean he wanted to spend another hour being -ironically- manhandled into wigs and dresses!)

"Wah-! Don't take it off! You looked so cute~! "

"I'm a boy! I don't want to be called cute, damn it!"

* * *

In the background, Nana giggled, folding a skirt from the basket of laundry that had started the impromptu 'dress up' game as she beamed at the thought of all the pictures she'd taken. Still, no matter how amusing the scene was, she'd be a bad parent if she didn't at least try to discipline her children.

"Tsu-kun, language!" She chided, not minding the fact that they were running around so much.

It just meant they had lots of energy, after all! And besides, they were still just kids. They were supposed to be having fun. And as long as they could be so happy and alive (and happy to be alive), that was really all she could ask for.

"Sorry, Mama~!" A yelp quickly following as the brunette tripped on the long skirt he was wearing. Nearly catching himself only to fall as his sister crashed into him, the two falling onto the **—** thankfully carpeted **—** ground in a heap.

"Oh, my…" Thankfully the two were uninjured, and since no one was crying (each clearly more concerned about the other than any injuries they, themselves might have had), Nana figured that they would both be okay. Allowing herself to relax and sit back down for the moment so she could finish the laundry that had nearly fallen when she instinctively rose from concern. She'd check over them just in case once she was done folding the last piece of clothing and set it all bad into the basket for easy carrying.

Still, her kids were really just too cute! she thought to herself, a cheerful smile on her face even as she checked on the two before reminding them to be more careful.

The relationship the twins had was really something to behold, she mused, already picking up the camera even without conscious thought. By this point she barely had to think to adjust so that she could take a better quality picture, smiling as they looked over each other before starting to bicker over the wig that had slipped off in the fall.

Really, it was an almost picture perfect scene, she mused, shutter clicking away as the two helped each other up and dusted the other off even despite their heated if friendly bickering.

Now if only Iemitsu was here, she thought wistfully. Then things would really be perfect…

She could already imagine him laughing away, once he'd hurried over to make sure the two were absolutely fine. He was such a doting husband and father, after all...

* * *

As it turned out, her new name **—** or rather, the name she would be referred to as now **—** was Sawada Chiyohime. Younger twin and sibling to one Sawada Tsunayoshi. She and her new brother being twins and the only children of Sawada Iemitsu and Nana.

She wasn't quite sure exactly what the area they lived in was, but it was definitely in Japan. A small and quaint little suburban town as far as she could tell.

She and Tsuna had been named by what was supposedly their father's family's conventions. Hence more traditional sounding names such as 'Tsunayoshi' and 'Chiyohime'. Which, really, were very unlikely to ever be used by most people due to how much of a mouthful they were, even individually.

More likely, they'd be gaining nicknames in the upcoming future (which, hopefully, would not be 'Tsu-kun' and 'Chi-chan', as those were more like baby names than anything). Probably more along the lines of 'Tsuna' and 'Chiyo' or 'Hime' and 'Yoshi', or something like that.

Of course, she wasn't really complaining about the names. It was a very nice name, even if she really hadn't expected such a...formal(?)...name? Really, it was one of those names you would've expected from some traditionalist clan or high strung bureaucratic or business oriented family.

Again, she wasn't complaining. Their parents had obviously put a lot of thought and care into those names, so why would she? No doubt it'd look good on paper, once she figured out how to write it in kanji...assuming there were kanji. (Something to look into another day, though she'd like to think there was. Their parents had probably put too much thought into it to just go with hiragana or katakana for such names. Well, hopefully, anyway. But again, she wasn't complaining. No, really. She wasn't. Honest to whatever gods were worshiped here.)

Still, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Child of Sawada Iemitsu and Sawada Nana.

She wondered, sometimes, why those names sounded so familiar. The names and surrounding inciting the idea that everything, down to the setting, were familiar. To the point that she was absolutely sure that the town they lived in was called Namimori, despite the fact that it hadnever been mentioned.

Or maybe she just didn't remember it being mentioned.

In the end, she'd put it down to her disorienting 'other' memories, even as she continued to do her best to enjoy her new life. Even when she had to practice to control motor skills that were frustratingly basic so that she could even try to toddle a few steps. (And being careful not to be seen as a child genius, though she was still impatient as heck to get past those toddling years.)

That aside, though. She and Tsu really were pretty much identical aside from gender. And, well, apparently, hair color. (Which would supposedly fade into the same if a slightly paler shade of brown than her brother now sported. It'd be later, but for now, it was weird.) It was strange to see herself as a baby, a small chubby body full of baby fat and auburn eyes a shade lighter than her twin's.

Even more so with her dirty blonde-brown hair, already darkening to a shade of brunette that was similar if not quite the same as her twin's. Especially when she'd spent her entire life (previous life…?) with the firm belief that she could not do blonde. It just… didn't suit her. Unlike her brother who'd apparently been born with a slightly darker shade that had 'faded' more quickly to its current brunette.

It had been both fascinating and disturbing to watch as her own darkening blonde-ish tufts had turned brown, just a few shades, then a tone or two off from his own.

Supposedly, that was normal. Which, okay, she had had a friend who'd shown her pictures of herself as a blonde child to the brunette she was now...er...had been...y'know, before the whole 'reincarnation' thing had occurred…

But she was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to happen so quickly.

Then again, what did she know about the logistics of this world? For all she knew white or even colorful hair was considered a norm here. (She'd regret that later, when a certain white-haired boxing maniac passed by them in later years, or when the red-haired supposedly fully japanesemusic loving technological genius showed up, among others. Seriously, that was a long list that was better put off for another time, considering it didn't really matter now.)

Anyways, being apparently 'normal' did not make it any less strange. But again, who was she to decide these things? For all she knew they lived in a world where superpowers and magical abilities really did exist.

(Ha, like she'd be that lucky...or unlucky. Actually...maybe she would be...that unlucky, that was.)

Still, it was nice to know that her weak eyesight hadn't followed her to this life, at least (or so she hoped, anyway. It could always change, after all, though it was a bit disappointing that she still had brown eyes, even if her hair was 'lighter' now).

Honestly speaking though, she wouldn't be surprised if she still ended up needing glasses somehow later. Though she could only hope it wouldn't be the near finger thick lenses she'd had to wear before. While she hadn't minded having to wear glasses, seeing everything blur outside a certain four or five inch range was really something she didn't need to deal with again.

(Then again, that had been at least partially genetic last time, so maybe she'd get lucky. She'd just have to wait and see.)

Either way, she had to shake herself mentally to push the memories of her past life away, not wanting to start getting depressed or think too much and end up upsetting her twin. (A twin who always just seemed to know when she was sad or upset...and then would proceed to cry his eyes out, which would in turn trigger her to start crying and… while it was something she really couldn't help, considering that she had been and apparently still was a bit of a sympathetic crier, even in this world…)

Well, better to avoid thinking about it all when those thoughts would only lead to pain and heartache (and anxiety). After all, even if they hadn't been the warmest or the most loving of families, the one she remembered had still been her family. And of course, it...hurt...to know that she wouldn't be seeing them again. (Not anytime soon, anyway.)

And of course, the ones she'd miss the most…

(The ones who'd always been there for her, no matter what had happened…or with who.)

The ones she'd loved and trusted the most being no longer in reach still hurt. Thinking that 'they were gone', even if it was technically reallyher being gone...

Well, the only upside was really that they weren't the ones dead. (At least, she didn't think they were.) Though that might not apply to her cats, which, somehow, no matter how hard she tried to think and remember, she still couldn't figure out why. Just the knowledge of certain things without knowing exactly why.

(Something she'd later blame on hyper-intuition, and all that involved, once everything finally settled and her memories were all sorted.)

Of course, not being able to recall all of her memories, she could only assume that it was (probably) due to the fact that her current brain was still developing. (Ironic that psychology knowledge would be helping her now, as the random regurgitation's of information that infant skulls weren't completely grown and formed at birth, let alone brains...)

Why she could recall random facts but not her memories was strange, but at the very least she could be certain of things that may or may not have happened. For whatever reason.

(It was still weird though.)

Regardless of the situation, however, it seemed that both she and her twin would be taking more after their mother than their father (weird hair aside...and later, as they would find out, hyper-intuition among other things), a scruffy-haired blonde who seemed to simply sparkle whenever he looked at any of his family members. (Looked, thought, basically the same thing, here.)

Strange as he was, strange as the entire situation was, even if he was a total dork of a dad **—** something she'd always, legitimately though had been limited to t.v. or fiction **—** it was still very, very clear that he loved his family. Even to the point of distraction.

And if there was one thing she could be certain of, it would be that. How could she not, after all, when he was continuously spouting just how much he loved them, after all?

And if she'd cried the few times she'd let herself really think about it. To realize and understand just how much he utterly adored the ones he'd loved **—** and that she counted as one of them … Well, that was her own little secret. One that would quickly be forgotten and buried under the assumption that it had just been a typical baby's cries.

Still, that was only one of two things that she could be certain of at that point. The other? Well, the other was the fact that she'd never be alone. (Regardless of whether she wanted to be or not.) Even when she was actually alone.

Weird, right? It was… really strange. Especially considering that she rarely even had the chance to even think about being lonely. After all, Tsuna, if not being held by their parents, was more often than not attaching himself to her. Like a guardian protector or cherub.

It was almost as if he'd just somehow known that he was an elder brother. That it was (supposedly) his job to protect his 'younger sister'. Sometimes she'd wonder, staring at the soft, fluffy haired baby that was, apparently, her male counterpart.

Even if she tried to write it off, though. Sometimes...just, sometimes...she'd catch an odd look on her fellow infant's face. A flash of gold-like orange that niggled at something in her memories. Something she could never quite actually touch when she actually reached for the thought.

Dying Will Flames … something would whisper before fading from conscious thought. Leaving only a confused and wide-eyed infant in its wake. After all, what was that even supposed to be? To mean…?

(It would only be later, years later, when Tsuna ended up flaring with flames. When the neighbor's Chihuahua startled her scared but protective twin. Orange flames burning bright on his forehead, and liquid flames in his eyes as they narrowed almost threateningly at the more aggressive canine.

It was also then, that she'd feel the warmth and determination he had to protect her, just as she did to protect him. Unaware when a wash of warmth that hadn't come solely from her brother resonated, flaring within her own eyes.

It would be a little later after that, memories of a series that she had loved so much returning to her in bits and pieces as she slept her nerves away that evening. Whatever bravery she'd had draining away after telling the old man their father had brought back, that had apparently been his boss, 'No'. Something in her at the time having whispered that he would have done something. Something that neither she nor Tsuna would have liked if she hadn't stopped him.)

(She would let no one hurt her precious ones. Not if she could help it. Not on her watch.

And if Ochre flames flared even brighter, lighting brown eyes with molten amber, well... it wouldn't be the first -or the last- time it'd happen. But it'd be the brightest it'd ever be for a while...)

* * *

It had been years since the last time he'd been able to visit. Logically, he understood. He knew why it had to be done. Had known that Timoteo had stretched things to the best of his limits to do what he could to help as it was.

It was even why they were heading back to Namimori now, when his next scheduled 'vacation' wouldn't have been for another year or so at least. After all, no matter how you cut it, there was no company that would've been willing to give their workers a full year let alone nearly two, including paternity leave. No matter how much they might've valued a particular employee, there was no way that would have been possible without consequences.

Consequences that should have meant that he wouldn't have been able to come home this year (again), even if he'd done what work he could from home.

A day or two was nowhere near enough time for him to be able to visit.

Not when it took at least a full day round trip just to fly back and forth. And that was only considering the fact that Vongola had their own private jets that could fly nonstop for the 12+ (nearly 13) hour flight just going one way.

Needless to say, Tim was doing him a great favor to let him visit, even if he was technically only able to because he was 'on the clock' as one of Nono's bodyguards while he took his own vacation.

Of course, he hadn't been quite so enthusiastic when two small children that were starting to look more like Nana than himself greeted him at the door, screaming about 'stranger danger' and otherwise refusing to let him into his own house (much to Tim, Ganauche, and even Brow Nie Jr.'s amusement) until Nana finally appeared at the door, alarmed by her children's insistence that there was a 'strange weirdo' or 'bad guy' at the door.

(He would never admit that it hurt, at least a little, that his own precious blood and kin couldn't even recognize their own father outside of the occasional phone calls…)

* * *

 **End Notes** : You can all thank the ridiculously _kind_ , and _absolutely_ _lovely_ **WantToBeADog** for the quick update. Their kindness and comments really made my day, so: _thank you so very much_. I hope this surprise will convey even a little of my joy and gratitude for your reviews. (Though I think FF ate it, hence why it's not showing up on the site for some reason, or else I would've responded to that one too, sorry.)

Thankfully there wasn't much that had to be fixed for this chapter, so you all are getting this about half a day early, since I was planning to turn in for the night before I saw their review.

—Oh, yeah. That aside, since I end up doing the chapter summaries for AO3, I think I'll post them here, too? Though not til the end, since there are sometimes spoilers...unless anyone would prefer them to at the top?

That aside, the only noteworthy thing I can think of is the Cameo for the next chapter... I wonder if anyone can recognize who and where it's from?

In any case, today's summary:

Chapter 2: "Toddler Days" (The In-Between —or: Childhood Arc, Part I)

The members of the Sawada Family are as close as ever (the often missing Iemitsu notwithstanding).

Chi's continued confusion over her apparent reincarnation, Nana's wishes, and Tsuna's… well, Tsuna mostly just wants his mother (and sister, especially his sister) to stop calling him cute.


	3. Childhood Shenanigans (Child Arc, Pt II)

**Author's Note** : Today's update. Things start branching further from canon in a few chapters or so (assuming all goes to plan).

Only one more chapter before we catch up to what I have on AO3, main story wise, but re-watching KHR! is giving me a few ideas for later. Only announcement I can think of is that certain characters showing up will be based off headcanon and be explained at the end, so yeah. That aside... If anyone actually manages to guess today's cameo/reference, I'll consider, or at least make an attempt at, writing an omake or something with a prompt of the winner's choice.

Usual Disclaimers and Warnings Apply. (There are time jumps and POV swaps.)

(Also, if there are still any mistakes in here, then please do let me know. Really tired and feeling kind of sleep deprived so I may have missed some things... sorry.)

* * *

 **— Twin Skies: Childhood Arc, Part II —**

* * *

"Chi-chan~ Do you remember where Mama put her house keys?" Familiar and warm, the maternal voice called partially towards the house, distracted in her search for the very thing she'd asked for.

"Eh? It's not in your purse, Mama?" A light and childish voice responded much closer than the woman expected. It startled her into turning, hand over her heart as she tried not to jump at the surprise. The child in question looking curiously through the doorway, despite originally having been in the living room when she'd first come down.

"Eh? Ah, no… It doesn't seem so. Do you or Tsu-kun think you can help Mama find them, Chi-chan?" Lowering herself a bit so that she could meet eyes with her daughter without either of them having to strain their necks too much, the brunette smiled hopefully at the slightly messier haired version of herself.

"Um, sure! Chi and Tsu-kun can look for them. Does Mama want us to look upstairs, then?" She asked, trying to think of places it could be. "They're not still by the door, right?" The girl wondered, an adorably serious expression on her face that made her mother want to coo.

"Ah… They might be. Then, Mama will check by the door, so can Chi-chan and Tsu-kun check by Mama's bedside table? They shouldn't be in the living room...I think." Musing at her own forgetfulness, Nana sighed.

"Okay! I'll go look with Nii-chan!" She agreed, before scurrying back upstairs as quickly as her little feet could.

Nana giggled but called a warning to be careful. No need to have to worry about injury from carelessness when it could very well have been prevented, after all!

Not that she could really say anything about it considering her own scatterbrained tendencies at times, though she did at least try to take note of things that she could…

An answering call of agreement followed, and she soon heard another childish voice calling to her daughter. Stepping out of the kitchen, she made her way to the front door, the little stand by the door was the most likely place, though it was possible she'd left the keys in the door again as well. Thankfully the area was pretty safe, but with two children and only herself as the adult at home, it was best that she was more careful!

She didn't think she'd done so this time, but… Just in case! She'd still better check.

Childish voices could be heard drifting from the top of the stairs, no doubt Chi-chan was telling Tsu-kun about her plight, but as it turned out, it wasn't needed, even as a short silence broke the distant chatter.

Ah, just as Chiyo-chan had thought, it really was by the door! Sighing in relief, Nana thanked heavens that she hadn't accidentally left them in the door again. That would be so embarrassing! She didn't have long to think so, however, as a somewhat more boyish voice called out to her from the stairwell.

"The key's not on your table, Mama! Chi-chan and Tsu-kun checked!" Her son called out, not quite willing to step down the stairs in worry that he'd trip in his socks.

Nana giggled, such a worrisome child, his kind and 'serious' nature was just so cute though!

"It's okay, Tsu-kun! Mama found them by the door! Just like Chi-chan thought! Would you mind letting Chi-chan know, Tsu-kun~?"

A pause and an "Okay~!" followed by more indistinct chatter, as the two finally made their way downstairs.

"Mama found the keys?" Chi-chan asked cutely (as expected of her and Iemitsu's children! So cute~! No doubt they would grow up to be just as cool as their father someday), earning a cooing sigh from her mother, as the girl and her messier haired counterpart walked in hand in hand, heads tilted in an adorably quizzical manner.

"Yes! Thanks to Chi-chan," she agreed, "And of course, thanks to Tsu-kun for helping look, even if they weren't where Mama thought they were!"

Tsuna preened in a rather embarrassed manner, since he didn't really feel he'd done much. But was still pleased by the praise, of course!

"It's no problem, Mama!" Shooting a petulant look at his twin when she giggled at his expression, he only earned a grin in return, as she turned back to their mother.

"Well, Mama's going to the grocery store soon, did either of you want anything?" She asked, trusting the two to take care of each other while she was gone.

The two looked at each other, almost mirror images as they seemed to think —or perhaps even speak in that nearly telepathic manner she'd heard twins could! Ah, how cool~!

Finally, the two turned back to her. "Can we have Curry for dinner today?" Tsuna pleaded, eyes almost like a puppy's and mimicked by his sibling as they looked up at her.

"We could have the rest for Lunch tomorrow!" Chiyo added, before pausing, eyes lighting up at some thought. "Ah...but Beef Stew is tasty too!" It had beef, which was kinda like Nii's favorite Salisbury Steak, and was a kind of stew...sort of like Curry!

Tsuna gave her a wide-eyed look. "B...Beef Stew…?" Making a face, he thought about it. "But I don't want Beef Stew with rice!" He complained. It was really soupy, too!

"Eh, but they're good with noodles, right?" Like udon or...ramen could work too…?

Tsuna made a face, scrunching his nose as if he was thinking of it. (Nana's hands itched for the camera she'd left in the kitchen, ahhh, if only she'd thought to keep it on her all the time! She could've taken such cute pictures of her kids…)

"I guess… but I still like Curry better, and you can eat it with noodles too, right?" He asked, slightly dubious but not wanting Beef Stew. If it was Beef Stew, then wouldn't Cream Stew or Nikujaga be better?

Chiyo made a face, not scrunching her nose nearly as much as Tsuna was, but still clearly thinking, before seemingly acceding the point with reluctance. "I want rice for dinner though," she decided.

"So can we have curry for dinner, please, Mama?" Both turning to Nana with such pleading puppy dog eyes… even if it were a more difficult request she couldn't exactly turn it down! Ah, oh no, even though she'd wanted to buy some ingredients for a stir-fry tonight…

Clearly troubled, Nana barely managed to resist for even a minute before giving in.

"I suppose, but that means you'll have to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, and maybe even dinner," she warned them. Curry was meant to be made for more people after all!

"Can we have noodles with it tomorrow?" Chiyo asked, Tsuna making a face.

He had mentioned it because he knew Chi-chan liked noodles, but… "Curry and Bread?" He pouted, not as fond of noodles since he always made such a mess with them. Bread could just be dipped and chewed though!

Chiyohime thought about it and nodded, "Okay, but I want it with rice for dinner!" she said again. It would have been anyways, really, but the kids' adorably stubborn attitudes were just so cute…

"Okay, Mama will see what's fresh at the market today," she promised, "If you're both good," and she knew they would be, it was rare for them to be disobedient, though that didn't include the occasional childish tantrums that they were quickly growing out of, of course (oh, they grew up just so quick…), she continued. "Mama might even let you get ice cream at the park tomorrow," she smiled.

"Strawberry?!" "Red Bean?!" The two exclaimed at once, before turning and staring at each other with such betrayed looks Nana couldn't but to laugh.

"Strawberry's better!" Tsuna insisted, not yet having been pressured by his agemates to believe it was 'too girly' a flavor for a boy to enjoy.

"No way! Red Bean is! It's always sweet!" She pouted. It wasn't like she disliked strawberry, but sometimes the berries were frozen, or worse… tart!

"Nuh-uh! Strawberry's bestest! It tastes good with anything!" He insisted stubbornly.

"Red! Bean!" Chiyo insisted back, the two glaring (or rather, pouting) each other with furrowed brows, only to stop when Nana got their attention.

"Now, now. Don't fight, or no ice cream tomorrow," she warned them, diffusing the air at the same time as she continued. "Besides, you'll each get one scoop, so Tsu-kun can get what Tsu-kun likes, and Chi-chan can get what Chi-chan likes. There's not better or worse, everyone likes different things and that's okay," she chided. "You don't think Mama's bad if she likes Matcha, do you?" she pointed out.

The two stared at the ground before agreeing to disagree, feeling somewhat guilty for the argument since Mama was right after all. It was okay to like different things!

"Yes, Mama… We're sorry," they chorused, apologizing preemptively as they'd learned that it was the quickest way to be forgiven (along with actually looking sorry, of course!).

Smiling at the two, Nana lowered herself so she could ruffle their hair and give them both hugs.

"Okay, Mama forgives you. Now give Mama a hug, okay? I'll be back soon, so be good! We still have some snacks leftover from last time, so you can each have one while you wait," she promised, before speaking more firmly. "Only one each, okay? Or else Mama will be making Leek Stew tonight instead!" she exclaimed, knowing that neither of the children liked the leeks they'd tried a few weeks ago.

Earning horrified gasps from both of them, the two promised adamantly that they'd be good and only have one each. Leeks! Eugh…!

Nana almost squealed and giggled, really, her babies were just so cute!

Barely managed to hold herself back, she nodded. "Then, Mama will be going now! And what do you say when someone leaves?" She asked.

" 'Come back soon!' " The twins chorused with cute smiles, earning an actual squeal and hugs. Nana couldn't take pictures right at this moment, but that didn't stop her from cooing and fawning over her children for a little while!

Ah, really, they were just soooo cute!

* * *

Tsuna and Chiyo exchanged a glance, waiting a few minutes after their mother finally left before speaking up again.

"...Is she gone now?" Asking and waiting for his twin to check, he earned a nod after a few more moments.

"Uh-huh, can't see her anymore. She left the gate outside," the other responded, peeking past the curtains of the window panes on either side of the front door.

Staring at each other for a moment, neither said a word, clearly waiting for the other to say something. It didn't take long for them to give up, though Chiyo ended up speaking up first.

"She didn't come back or forget anything, so it should be okay," she decided, peeking back outside again.

"Should we pick a different place this time? We almost ruined the living room last time," Tsuna mused dubiously as they started heading towards the kitchen in sync.

"...It should be safe if we're in the kitchen, right?" Pulling out a chair, she pulled it out next to the counter. Neither of them were tall enough to get up by themselves, after all.

Tsuna climbed on after helping her push it up next to it. Kids could be quite resourceful, after all, as he looked around for a bit before finding what he was looking for. "I guess? Oh...it's here," he mumbled, pulling the cookie jar towards the counter so he could pick it up easier, he passed it to Chiyo before climbing down again.

"Nice! We still have Chocolate Chip Cookies from Yuuya-nii!" She sparkled, almost drooling at the thought. Amane Yuuya lived in one of the nicer Apartment Buildings nearby, often drifting from job to job to support himself and his own little brother despite the fact that they were still in school. The 'freeter' seemed to get along with pretty much everyone, and almost rivaled mama in cooking, though they weren't sure if that was really true.

Mama made the best food! Though he definitely did make the best sweets they'd had with a few exceptions. (Granny Sen, for one. Though considering she'd taught Yuuya how to cook, that wasn't surprising at all. Apparently, she'd even taught Mama how to make some of the food they loved!)

"Really! I want one, too!" He exclaimed, hurrying over to his sister's side, as she set it on the chair so he didn't knock it over. The two stared into the jar with sparkly eyes.

There were all kinds of cookies, both cute and delicious ones, and more 'normal' ones as well, but the chocolate chip cookies were definitely their favorites.

All soft with gooey insides.

Unfortunately, being their favorites, that meant they often went through them very quickly. Or they had, until Mama had limited them to one each and only when they'd been good. Otherwise the two children would eat them til they got sick. That was just how delicious Yuuya-nii's sweets were! Cake and stuff, too. They were all just sooo tasty!

"Yuuya-nii should just be a baker," Chiyo piped up, passing one of them to her brother, before taking one herself. Wanting to eat it all at once but just barely managed to keep herself from doing so. (Kids weren't known for the best self control, after all.)

"That's true. Yuuya-nii makes the best sweets!" He agreed, carefully putting his on a napkin and giving one to Chiyo to wrap hers in.

As much as the two wanted to eat them up now, they had already agreed they'd wait until after practice. Or else they'd be hungry until Mama got home! Experimenting took up a lot of energy, after all. And they were always tired by the end, even if they hadn't done much.

"Uh-huh, but he's good at lots of things, so I guess it's okay," she mused, pausing for a moment as she carefully put her cookie down so she could push the cookie jar back onto the counter, before giving up and putting it down again so she could climb onto the chair to try again.

This time she succeeded, though she still inwardly lamented her lack of height, hoping that they could get bigger faster so they could reach things easier.

When she got down, she found that Tsuna was holding a napkin wrapped cookie in each hand, having picked hers up so she wouldn't accidentally step on it climbing on and off the chair. Thanking her brother as she accepted the cookie back, and embarrassed for not having thought about the possibility (how careless of her...but then...one could argue she'd always kind of been that way, even before. Most of 'her' accidents back then were results of inattention and carelessness, after all).

"Eheh… Thanks, nii-chan."

Leaving the chair for now so they could use it as a table (if they put it on the table, they'd have to climb the chairs again), the two paused again. Not quite sure what to do now.

"Hey, if we're gonna do it, wouldn't it be better to do it in the bathroom?" Tsuna piped up after a while.

"Oh...because then we could use the tub in case?" Chiyo perked up, catching onto her twin's thinking. "That's a good idea! As expected of nii-chan!"

Embarrassed by the praise, Tsuna flustered. "G-geez, Chi-chan! A-anyways, if we go to the bathroom this time, we'll have to be careful not to flood the bath again."

The last time they'd started the water for Mama to 'help', they'd accidentally gotten distracted and forgotten til the water had overflowed. Either way, Chiyo definitely didn't want a repeat of that and nodded.

"Half way?" She asked. It'd be easier to make sure it wouldn't splash out, and they could drain it faster.

"Half way," Tsuna agreed, nodding. It meant they'd have to put the chair back before they forgot (Mama wouldn't get too mad, but she'd still make them put it back so they would 'remember in the future', since she tended to forget things too).

"Okay. Then, should we take the cookies to our rooms or…?"

Tsuna made a face. "That's too far. We're using the downstairs bath right?" It was smaller, and they wouldn't have to climb into the bath just to start it, since the one upstairs was ironically more traditional. "And I think Mama would notice if we did," especially considering it was the one in her room.

"Oh. True." Chiyo nodded. "Okay, then the Living room?" It was a lot closer than the kitchen, at least.

"Uh-huh, I don't think we'd forget to eat one of Yuuya-nii's cookies," he paused, unable to help but to start drooling again at the idea.

"...We could share one now and eat the other one later?" Chiyo offered, thinking pretty much the same thing. She wanted to eat it now!

Tsuna clearly concurred, nodding as he agreed.

"Okay." It wasn't like he was against the idea, after all. "We can share a cookie then try it." Mama would take a while to go there, pick ingredients, maybe talk to the Aunties and Grannies in the area, and then bring the groceries back.

The twins were too small to be able to help without getting tired frequently, or else she would have let them come. (She couldn't exactly carry two kids and the groceries by herself, after all.) But since they were planning to do something today, it was a good thing they weren't big enough yet.

Sometimes she did let them come if there wasn't much, though. Letting each of them pick a small treat or one big one to share. (Cake was always an exception, especially if Yuuya-nii was on shift. He seemed to be everywhere when they thought about it, though… Kind of like a superhero!)

Still, Tsuna pulled out the silverware drawer to grab a butter knife (sharp knives were kept in a different drawer the two weren't allowed to open). Now that they'd made a decision, they could go to the living room to have their cookie, keep the other one safe, and go to try out the idea they'd had.

With water nearby for safety, of course!

* * *

Chiyo and Tsuna stared at the scruffy haired blonde man wearing a formal suit past the safety-locked door. The chain kept in place 'just in case' since Mama wasn't here and couldn't answer the door just yet (not that they could reach it without help anyway, but that wasn't the point). "Ahahaha, come on, Hime-chan, Tsuna-fish, open the door for daddy, won't you?"

The blonde man claiming to be their 'daddy' didn't look very much like what they thought he would, being too short to be able to see the pictures on the higher counters, and too young to have remembered the last time they'd seen him. (It didn't help that voices tended to sound different over the phone than in person, either.)

"..." Exchanging a look, the two, holding hands for support, looked suspiciously at the man, not noticing the trio of amused men behind the poor blonde.

"But we don't know you! If you were really Daddy then we would know!" Tsuna said warily, hand squeezing the strangely quiet and uneasy Chiyo's beside him. Something niggled at the less spikey haired twin's mind, but she couldn't quite figure it out.

Could he really be who he was saying he was? But their father hadn't been around in a long time, right? So long that she could barely even remember the traces of a blurry, blonde figure with large hands and a warmth that had seemed to blanket them from how 'big' he'd seemed.

It wasn't like she could see clearly back then, and she'd already started forgetting about things that far back. She was still occasionally remembering other things, but…

(If there was one thing she'd later come to realize, it was that her memory worked a lot odder than she could have expected it to. Ironically just like her memories of that other life that occasionally jumped out from seemingly nowhere, triggered by the strangest things.)

"That-" A pained look crossed what they could see of the man's figure, unable to argue, or to explain to two young children why they weren't able to remember 'daddy'.

"If you're not Daddy, then you're a bad person, cuz you're lying!" And lying was bad, of course. Stubbornly glaring (pouting, really) at the suit-wearing blonde, Tsuna took comfort and strength from Chiyo, who was clinging to him far more than usual, even with strangers.

Tsuna was the big brother, and as he'd been told by Mama, as the big brother he had to do his best to protect his sister, even if he was just as scared and nervous as she was.

Still, the yell seemed to have attracted their mother's attention, as her voice drifted down the hall, catching their attention. "Tsu-kun, is something wrong…?" She called, coming down the stairs from the bath she'd taken earlier. It wasn't like her son to yell unless extremely startled or scared, after all.

Still staring at the shell shocked man outside the door suspiciously, he turned to answer, "Mama! There's a strange person at the door!" And he wouldn't go away! Tsuna thought with a sulking huff. "And I think he might be a bad guy," the boy 'whispered', clear enough for those outside the door to hear (and setting off a round of half-covered laughter, as Iemitsu cried...in his heart, at least).

"Oh my!" Nana gasped, peeking to see if it was true only to find…

"Dear?!" She exclaimed, hurrying to open the door despite her children's protests about opening the door for a 'bad guy' or a 'stranger'.

"Nana~!" Iemitsu cried, taking comfort in the fact that at least his wife still accepted him. Sure, the twins had been too young to be able to properly remember him when he'd left, but… but still!

"Mama, no!" Tsuna shrieked, Chiyo panicking as her twin released his hold on her hand to throw himself forward ("Onii-chan?!"), demanding that the 'bad guy let go of his Mama!' in a clear if somewhat shrill voice.

* * *

Eventually, Nana managed to convince her children of the truth, even surprised as she was by her husband's visit. And to think that he'd brought his boss and a few coworkers ("to show off my beautiful wife and kids, of course!" "Oh, darling!") along as well!

Of course, she would have prefered to have some forewarning, since this meant she'd definitely have to make a trip to the market for their evening meal (portions for one adult and two children was not nearly enough to cover for four adult men as well!), but she was too busy floating on clouds on that her husband was home, too happy with the 'surprise' her spouse had prepared.

Tsuna and Chiyo… well, they were definitely still wary of these supposed 'strangers'. Still, the earlier antics were easily written off as children being children, though Nana had of course apologized on their behalf. Insisting that they apologize as well, once she explained 'the truth'.

Still, wary as they were, they did apologize properly, at least for the chaos that had happened when Tsuna had tried to 'attack' what he'd seen as a stranger trying to steal their Mama! Iemitsu was just happy to be let in and accepted, even if it made him want to cry that they were so wary of him at first.

As it was, he had to remember that his 'Boss and Coworkers' were around as well, proceeding to introduce the three to his family. Timoteo, his 'Boss', or Nono (Nonno or jii-chan for the kids, of course); his 'coworkers', Brow Nie Jr. (the Vongola Sun Guardian...not that they could say so, of course) who was from the 'Medical Department' and in charge of 'Tim-san's health; and Ganauche III (The Lightning Guardian and) the youngest of his fellow co-workers and Timoteo's 'bodyguard'.

Though all these 'new people' made the kids wary and shy, clinging mostly to their mother's skirt and thus getting underfoot, it was still so cute that Iemitsu couldn't help but to coo at them.

"Tsu-kun, Chi-chan, can you say hello to Papa's friends?" he asked, apparently recovered from his previous 'attack'.

The two children looked at each other, barely visible as they shared their look before peeking out from behind Nana, who, knowing just how shy they could be, and knowing that kids will be kids allowed them to take their time. She'd made sure that they understood manners, so she wasn't worried that they wouldn't be polite so much as how long it'd take them to speak up.

After all, no matter how rambunctious they could be, they were still quite shy, after all. Even if they'd warm up quickly enough once they felt comfortable. (As it had been with Sen-baa-san, as well as the two older kids she'd been looking after.)

(Part of it may or may not have Nana being a little petty in revenge since some warning would have been nice, after all. Now she'd have to go out again after she'd already done the shopping, though it wouldn't be happening until the kids would be okay without her either way. Alone in the house was one thing, but with what they deemed to be strangers...well, she wasn't that terrible a parent, after all…

Though the parenting books she and Iemitsu had gone through had definitely been of help, of course.)

Finally, they peeked out shyly again, the adults waiting patiently as they worked up the courage to greet them. Especially since the two parents weren't saying anything about it (it wasn't their place to override their parents, after all. That'd be just rude).

"H-Hello…" Tsuna greeted, echoed soon after by an even quieter Chiyo.

(Iemitsu may have squealed a little. Ahhh, their kids were so freaking cute .)

"H-Hello… ojii-san-tachi…" Hand gripping her brother's tightly, she peeked out of her mother's skirts, clinging to it with her other before ducking back behind it, feeling Tsuna get closer to both calm and be calmed as well. He was still curious, though, so he continued to peek out now and then, calmed more by the presence of his sister and mother, whilst Chiyo hid her face.

She wasn't sure why, but something about these people niggled at something in her head, and because she couldn't figure out exactly what it was, it made her more anxious, unlike her twin and brother.

Tsuna, though, aside from shooting her concerned looks and reassuring her with his presence as best as a child could (mostly by squeezing her and and whispering childish assurances), couldn't feel anything bad from them. Something had bothered him when they'd first showed up at the door, especially the blonde man claiming to be their Papa (but he'd heard him on the phone before and he sounded different! So it couldn't be him...or so he'd thought, but he did act an awful lot like their Papa did)...

Now that that had been cleared up, though, that weird something that always told him (and sometimes his sister) things had calmed down, seemingly content now that everything was okay aside from Chiyo's weird anxiousness. Which was weird since it was usually the opposite? She got really shy sometimes, but he did too, so it was okay, though. And they'd both made each other feel better when it happened, so he knew exactly what to do!

Not to mention, he was the big brother, after all! So he had to be considerate and take care of both Chi-chan and Mama, after all.

And he was definitely curious. The jii-chan that came with Papa felt kinda like Papa except not. The other two ji-chan felt different but still warm, almost kinda like the mustached grandpa. Not to mention… he'd never seen someone with two hair colors! Or green hair!

To the little boy who'd never seen such a thing, it was the coolest thing ever! Not to mention, if the old man was their Jii-chan, that meant they had a grandpa… which meant they had other family, too, right?

He'd always thought it was just him, Chi-chan, Mama, and Papa. So finding out about this new relationship…

Well, it was no wonder he was so shy. This was information overload for a child! And of course, he didn't want their (new) grandpa to dislike him, after all…! So of course he'd be a little shy.

Though he was definitely still curious.

* * *

 **End Notes** : Just one thing before we get started here. Warning: TEXT WALL AND SLIGHT (thankfully not major) POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD.

Okay, so you've probably all noticed, but Brow Nie and Ganauche's personalities, general coloring, and all that is all stuff based on what I headcanon, what 'official' information I could find on them aside.

Brow Nie Jr.'s name implies that he's the second of his position, so he's not actually a guardian here just yet. Nono still has his Sun Guardian, but they're in charge of Vongola Medical and can't just leave. Hence why Brow Nie gets to come along this time. Also, I don't know why, but I see him having Green/Greenish-Blonde Hair. Kind of like Kouyo so he gets Green hair.

(I did double check to be safe, but since there's no official colors or much on any of the Ninth Generation Vongola Guardians listed, Head-Canon it is.)

Ganauche actually does have a hair color listed on his page, so he gets to keep that.

Please keep in mind, though, that everyone's at least a decade younger than they were when they showed up in the Inheritance Arc, here. So not everyone's a guardian yet. (I headcanon Ganauche as actually being the youngest guardian at the moment, based on what we've seen of Lightning Guardians in the series. I wouldn't be surprised if the other two had either died and/or retired already.)

There might have been something else I wanted to share/explain, but since I can't think of it right now, I'll just add it later as needed. I think this chapter was note-heavy on AO3 due to the translations/explanations I had to include at the end, though I'll save that portion for after the chapter summary for today, considering how long they are.

Honestly, though, this chapter actually turned out a bit longer than I expected. Little!Tsuna just kinda came in and ran with the plot. So it's been split into two chapters (the next being the last official chapter posted before we're up to date with what's on AO3, Omake's and Extra's aside). I also have ideas for a possible Omake/Side-Series, but I don't know if anyone would be interested. It'd be one of two options, since I'm not sure which to take, honestly speaking. (Suggestions are always welcome as well, though I can't guarantee that I'll be able to fill all prompts.)

Either way it'd be a Time Traveler/AU!Tsuna being tossed back and ending up as Chiyo's twin (and freaking out because of it), though the question still remains on what point we want Tsuna to be at. Pre TYL/Byakuran!Arc or Post. I guess I'll take suggestions/preferences if you guys share it, or else it'll just be random typing in hopes one works out better than the other.

In any case, today's summary:

Chapter 3: "Childhood Shenanigans" (Iemitsu's Return —or: Childhood Arc, Part II)

Iemitsu is finally comes back for a visit! Nana's ecstatic. Tsuna and Chiyo… not so much.

There are too many strangers in their house, but at least they look kinda cool. Chiyo's not so sure she agrees if they really are 'cool', though.

* * *

 **Translation Notes** :

Nikujaga: A japanese dish based off the British Beef Stew. It's not a stew or soup, though you could technically call it stewed, I suppose. Translates literally to "Meat (&) Potatoes" (Niku & Jagaimo) as those two are the main stars of the dish. Typically Potatoes more than the meat, though depending on how one makes it, it can have more of one or the other based on the cook's preference. The main components of the seasoning is soy sauce and sugar.

-kun: a suffix used mostly for boys and those younger than one (ie: a teacher might call their students with this suffix regardless of gender) as well as those one is close to.

-chan: a suffix used mostly for girls and children or someone you're really close to.

-san: a suffix used as a form of respect, typically translated to "Mr." or "Mrs/Ms." but that's not necessarily the only use. Used mainly to be polite towards someone new. Small children can't enunciate it properly, so it's thought that '-chan' is the childish version of '-san'.

-nii: a suffix used as a shortened form of "(o)nii-san" or "(o)nii-chan", translating into "big brother". Can also be used for people who aren't too much older than one. Can also be used to refer to a (male) cousin.

-baa: a suffix used as a shortened form of "(o)baa-san" or "(o)baa-chan", translating into "grandmother" or "grandma/granny", basically used for old women if it's outside the family. Whether it's because they're 'like a grandma'.

-jii: a suffix used as a shortened form of "(o)jii-san" or "(o)jii-chan", translating into "grandfather" or "grandpa/grandad", basically used for old men. Similar to 'baa-chan' it can be used for old men outside the family. Regardless if they are or not.

-ji: a suffix used as a shortened form of "(o)ji-san" or "(o)ji-chan", translating to "uncle" or a middle aged man (or someone a lot older than one). Not to be confused with "-jii" which has has a drawn out vowel in comparison.

-tachi: a suffix that implies a group of people (large or small), a way to include everyone perceived as a part of the group of the person it's used for. For example "omae-tachi" one of the ways to say 'you' along with the suffix of '-tachi' combined becomes 'you all' or 'all of you' or just 'you' plural. Unlike "minna" it can not be used alone, and can only be attached to 'specific' words, pronouns or names to be exact. (ie: "ore/boku/watashi-tachi" means "we/us"; "kimi/omae-tachi" meaning "you (all)", etc.)

Other Notes:

"Papa" vs "Daddy": In Japanese, 'Daddy' or 'Dad' is "otou-chan", 'Dad' or 'Father' is "otou-san", the respected form of 'Father' is "chichiue". The 'o' in front can be dropped, similar with any of the above suffixes that include it. The kids use "Papa", while the parents switch between "tou-chan" and "Papa". (Mama is Mama, while Mommy/Mom is "kaa-chan")

"Nono" vs "Nonno": Nono is Italian for "Ninth" not to confused with "Nonno" which means Grandfather/Grandpa. The pronunciation is slightly different as well.

More on "-tachi": The one used above in particular, "ojii-san-tachi" can mean either "grandpa's" or "grandpa's group" or "the people with (the) grandpa". Grandpa, of course, being interchangeable with 'old man' or 'old men'.

If I've missed anything, go ahead and just ask. I'll add it to the End Notes/Explanations.


	4. A Child's Thoughts (Child Arc, Part III)

**Author's Note** : Last of the available chapters. It's late, I know, apologies. I won't keep you all with excuses, just suffice to say that today was absolutely exhausting, but I forced myself to finish the editing/format/cross-posting for today so please excuse any mistakes and/or errors. (I'll clean it up again when I'm less exhausted, later.)

Usual Disclaimers and Warnings Apply. No real time-jumps today.

* * *

 **— Twin Skies: Childhood Arc, Part III —**

* * *

Chiyo watched the interaction between all these 'new' people (they sounded familiar… also, wasn't Brownie the name of a sweet? Did BrowNie… ji-san… nii-san…? (He didn't look that old.) Er, BrowNie-san's parents name him after a dessert? Her childish mind wondered), the weird niggling feeling that she should know something continued to bother her. There was curiosity, too, though whether that was her or just Tsu-nii's own curiosity spilling over, she wasn't sure either.

But it was definitely annoying not to be able to remember something that she was sure she should know. (She definitely wasn't sulking —or pouting— over it, nope, no siree….)

(Of course it would be this that she'd 'inherit' from her dad. Something that she and her brother would only realize later on, as they sweat, watching the man cry and outright deny to the world that 'there's no way his babies could have been all grown up' so quick.)

Still, as time passed and the others seemed to settle, going about doing their own thing. (Ganache...or Ganauche-san claiming to want to take a walk and maybe smoke a bit so he could go outside while Brownie-san offered to help Mama with the groceries so she could start cooking, Tim-ojii-san or Nono as most of the new people called him offering to pay for the groceries so that Mama didn't have to worry about it, somehow managing to convince her though she didn't seem to be so accepting of it. They were guests after all, though Papa managed to convince not to worry about it, at least.)

The two children were allowed to go and do their own thing, though they chose to stay indoors, if only to keep Mama from worrying too much. Wandering over to the living room, they decided to draw and watch t.v. since Mama said they could.

Papa had stayed in the kitchen with Mama and the grandpa that had come with him as she cooked so they could talk. Taking the time alone to properly calm down and share what they'd 'found'.

"But the two ji-chan that came with Papa and Grandpa seem kind of cool, don't you think?" Scribbling something he saw on the television onto his paper in childish scrawls, he hummed, borrowing the blue twisty crayon from his sister's pile to add detail to what he was drawing.

"...The green-haired nii-san and the bicolored nii-san?" she asked, drawing carefully with the pink crayon pencil to avoid making mistakes. It was still frustrating that she wasn't quite at the same skill level that she used to be, even if it was better than the average child her age. Practice made perfect, but expecting something to come out one way only for it to, well, not … It was irritating, especially when remembering all the things she used to be able to do, but couldn't now because her body was too small or unwieldy (or just because her brain and motor functions weren't quite done calibrating yet so that she could ) or just plain clumsy.

Scowling at her paper when her hand wavered despite her best efforts and messed up the nice curve she'd wanted, she nearly missed her brother's hum.

"Yeah! I've never seen anyone with hair like that!" he said excitedly, waving the nice, red twisting crayon he'd picked out of the set their mother had bought for them when they'd agreed to share if they could just get the nicer and more expensive set of twisting crayon 'pencils' (which was silly, because even if they looked kinda like pencils they were still crayons. Twisty ones, even. Pencils didn't twist, so they weren't really pencils at all!) rather than two sets of normal crayons -even if they were the really big packs that couldn't even fit in their backpacks while they were still in their special box.

Apparently not noticing her disgruntled expression —or maybe just used to it, considering she got like that sometimes.

Papa had said it was because girls just tended to be moody. Girls were strange, but Chiyo was Chiyo, and Tsuna knew Chiyo, so she wasn't all that weird to him, because he knew her. But sometimes he did feel like she was keeping secrets , but Mama said that everyone has secrets, even twins. Mama said she had secrets too, but that was okay. Or, well, Private things, anyway. Chiyo had once said Privacy was kind of like secrets (because they're both things you don't really tell anyone), and he believed her.

Chiyo was really smart about that sort of thing...though she did do some dumb things sometimes too. That was okay, though, that was what he was there for. Friends (and Twins, especially Twins) help you cover for stuff you're not good with. So you can be better together. (Mama said so, and Mama never lied...she did get distracted and forgetful sometimes, and did seem to trust people too easily, too —but that's what they were there for. Friends and Family were kind of the same, since they shared 'burdens' and helped each other with stuff the others aren't good at, Family just loved you from the moment they met you and would always love you forever if you were part of it. Wait…)

"Hey, Chi-chan?" He asked, pausing in his coloring to turn to his sister...only to sweat at the expression on her face. She got weird over the weirdest things. Why she got upset when her drawings were so nice (though not as colorful as his! Mama said so), he'd never know. But Papa said that was because she was a girl… or because she was a per-fec-tion-ist. He wasn't sure why that word was so long, only that it meant that she liked making things perfect and got upset when she messed up or couldn't do that. (Which was weird, because he thought it looked good, so that meant it already was perfect, right? Mama and Papa thought so too. Well, whatever, it was probably because she was a girl, then. Huh...maybe she was weird after all, but apparently it was normal for boys to think girls are weird and for girls to think boys are weird, too. So he guessed that was fair.)

"Ugh… Yeah, Tsu-nii?" Apparently giving up as she made a face at her paper, she pushed both it at the crayon away with a huff, calming down as she turned to her brother, though.

"If Jii-chan is really our Jii-chan then that means he's family, right?" He asked, tilting his head in a manner that would have had all the girls screaming (at his cuteness) or squealing (over his cuteness). Chiyo as well, if she weren't so used to and/or immune to it. (Or not, she may or may not have been cooing and melting a little on the inside, already feeling better thanks to the therapeutic existence of the cuteness that was her Tsu-nii.)

"...Yes?" She confirmed, not quite sure where this was going. Tsuna got weird ideas sometimes, but they (mostly) worked out, and they were interesting at least, so she waited, choosing to hear him out as he struggled with the words he wanted to use.

"Uhm, well… Mama and Tou-chan both said that Family always loves each other —like, for forever 'n' always loves each other," he continued, trying to resist the urge to chew on his —well, their — crayon, since crayons tasted gross… They weren't nearly as tasty as they were pretty, but that was okay, he supposed. Chiyo and Mama both said they weren't for eating anyways, and he'd gotten an extra cookie out of it afterwards, so it wasn't so bad, he guessed.

"Uh...yeah?" She blinked, clearly still not seeing where this was going just yet. What about family? It was just them and their parents, right? Mama and Papa were the only real relatives they had…

She frowned, feeling something off about that statement. Wait…

"So that means he loves us, too, right? Like, for always forever?" He asked, tilting his head at his sister when she looked like she was thinking about something. "Uh, Chi-chan…?" he blinked, seeing no response as she seemed to glare at her paper (he knew she wasn't thinking about the paper though, it was clear to the other twin that she was thinking, even if anyone else that didn't know her as well might think different).

No response. What was she thinking about? He wondered, huffing (and not pouting) as he waved his hand (and the crayon in it) in front of her face. "Chiiiii-chaaaaannnn~" Whining (and not pouting, dang it) in tone if not term, his sister narrowly missed getting laid on as she startled back into real life (and not the dreams that daddy said she did, though she did tell him it wasn't always dreams. Sometimes it was just thinking, but people called it daydreaming anyways...he wasn't sure why they had to make a specific word for dreaming when it was for when you weren't sleeping and it wasn't always during the day like calling it day dreaming implied, but whatever. People were weird. It was a fact of life. Chiyo told him, so it had to be true).

"Ahhh!" She flailed, not quite screaming or yelling like you'd think despite the surprise, as she flailed. "Tsuna-nii, you're too close!" She whined, leaning away while trying not to fall when she found curious —if somewhat annoyed— hazel eyes staring right into her own slightly darker hues.

"Well you weren't listening!" Tsuna complained, flopping half over the coffee table and ignoring the fact that he was smushing the crayons closest to him. "Did you even hear what I said?" He asked, tone accusing as he shot an (adorably) upset look at her.

"...Yes…?" she responded sheepishly, shrugging. "Love and Family, right?" she blinked, " 'Like, for always and forever'?"

Doe-like brown eyes were still narrowed suspiciously at her but he nodded and finally released the art supplies from their misery. (...Heehee, misery. That word was funny. It sounded like one of the characters in the anime they liked to watch. Or… oohhhh, one of the bad guys from the tokusatsu on saturdays! 'Zetsubou' would be a great name for a main villain, it even had 'ou' in it, so they could claim to be, like, an evil king or something too! ...but he was getting distracted, what were they talking about again?)

Doe eyes blinking for a moment as he tried to remember what he was talking, he nodded. "Yeah. So if he's family, does that mean we have other family that'd love us like Mama and Papa and we do each other?" He asked, as if his sibling knew the answers to the universe.

"Eh…" Screwing her face in thought as if it'd help, she hummed. "I guess?" She mused, that weird not-quite-feeling seeming to agree with the conjecture. "Probably? I mean, we didn't know we had a grandpa, right?" Although her not-quite-feeling seemed to kind of niggle at that, though in a weird way that she wasn't sure what it meant. Like, was he or was he not their grandpa?

She wasn't sure, but if the other question got answered, she supposed he could be? Maybe he was an adopted grandpa? Wait…

"Awesome! So that means we have other nii-chan and nee-chan-tachi, too? Do you think that means the two nii-chan that came with jii-chan today count?" he wondered, starry eyed at the thought of having such cool looking cousins. Apparently picking up his sister's labeling without thought. Ji-chan or Nii-san, well, they looked older than Yuuya-nii, but not as old as Papa, so it made sense if he thought about it.

"...I don't think so, but they could be adopted?" she mused, finding her brother's shining expression entertaining at the very least. She didn't want to burst his bubble but she didn't want to lie to them either. They always knew when people lied, especially if they listened to the kind-of-not-voice and not-quite-feeling, but that didn't mean it was easy to understand. It was still trial and error sometimes, but it was almost like just… knowing sometimes, too.

(Though why her earlier thought of 'adoption' made it niggle even more, she had no idea. Maybe she should bring it up…? Later, though. Right now they were talking about something else. She could always just ask after —well, if she remembered— anyways.)

It was weird, but it was their thing. They'd figured at first that it was because they were twins, but Chiyo didn't think so, and Tsuna had told her that the not-feeling didn't seem to agree for him either when they brought it up. But they couldn't really think of anything else it could be, so they just kind of… accepted it and let it go. It was useful, at least. Well, sometimes...er, most of the time, anyways.

It could be ignored, of course, but that didn't mean things always ended well... (The crayon fiasco had been one, Tsuna's curiosity overriding the strange knowing that it wouldn't actually taste as nice as it had looked and smelled...Mama never bought the scented ones again after, either, worried that they might try it again, though they were older now!) Still, they had started paying more attention to it when they'd realized it was a thing. Because Mama didn't get the not-feelings and they hadn't really brought it up to anyone else. It always just seemed like a bad idea for some reason, even though they'd thought it'd be alright to ask.

So weird.

"Oh, right. They work with tou-chan, right?" he remembered, disappointment etched on his face, though he didn't let it get him down for long. "That's okay, though. We can see if they're really cool once we talk to them," he decided, pointedly not thinking about the fact that it was more likely to be an if than a when considering their chronic shyness.

Chiyo just hummed and nodded in response. She was still trying to figure out what her brain was trying to tell her, but it wasn't really working. She'd probably have to bring it up, but as her brother started talking again, she turned her attention back to their talk.

"...Do you think we could ask if we have other family?" he asked again after a while, staring down at his picture again. Pushing it aside like Chi-chan had hers, before grabbing a new one.

He wanted to draw everyone, and that meant he'd need the green and yellow and black crayons. Looking over at Chiyo, he found that she wasn't using the black one and traded it for the red one in his hand. He already had the yellow and green closer to him, and the white was on Chi's side —but he didn't need that or the blue one. The Brown and Gray were in the middle, so he could just use it when he needed it, and the Peach one (he supposed it was shorter than not-yellow and not-pink or not-brown, but it didn't really look like a peach either. Those were more pink, yellow-y or white, after all. But then again, people were weird, so he supposed naming a color after a fruit it didn't actually match would count as one of that. It wasn't even quite orange, either. So weird, he thought).

"You could," she said, apparently giving up and deciding to practice letters and kana instead of drawing again. Boring, but that just meant she could help him again later. His characters weren't as pretty as his sisters, but he saw how much she practiced, so he didn't mind. It was just something different that she was good at. Just like he was better at running or climbing than she was (even if he did have accidents sometimes). Heights were scary, but they weren't nearly as scary when you have someone by your side (or ready to catch you...actually, that part was probably more important).

Well, that and practicing writing was boring. As long as Chiyo and Mama (and he supposed Papa) knew what he meant, why did it matter if his characters were perfect, after all?

Eventually, though, dinner time came and they were called back to the kitchen. Brownie-nii-san and Ganon… Ganosh(?)-nii-san had both come back from taking walks and getting groceries while they'd been preoccupied. Not even aware when Papa had peeked in to check on why they were being so quiet as they ended up being more absorbed in drawing than the anime on TV.

Tsuna would complain when their Papa tried to take a peek at the pictures they'd worked on, but it was a surprise so he wasn't supposed to be looking at them yet anyway! He and Chi-chan had worked really, really hard on them and he wanted to show them all at once, after all!

Chiyo didn't mind. She didn't really care either way, but if it made Tsu-nii happy, then group surprise it was.

She was more preoccupied with the fact that Mama had made so much delicious stuff, anyways. (There was baby spring mix salad! With the experimental sauce she and Mama had ended up mixing one day. Soy sauce, lemon, and some grated crisp veggies on top with certain seasonings that were probably herbs that she couldn't quite remember at the moment. For some reason it made her think Italian though that was silly, Italian Dressing was all orangey-clear and weird.)

She could already feel her mouth watering as she and Tsu-nii were helped onto their chairs since they were too high to climb into themselves without some accident happening.

* * *

"Oh my, Tsu-kun, did you bring your drawings to the table?" Mama asked, taking note of the carefully face down stack of papers laying precariously off the edge of the table.

"Yeah! It's a surprise!" He beamed, an adorable look of pride on his face as he kicked his legs. Booster seats sucked, he always felt stuck or cramped if he didn't move around a lot. But it wasn't like they could just stack on cushions. Those slipped sometimes, and it made it dangerous.

Chiyo had tried to slip off her seat one time, and ended up hurting herself. He'd started crying too, after all that, because it had hurt , and he knew that Chiyo had hurt too, and he couldn't really explain it, but it was almost like he could feel the hurt too, when the tears started stinging his eyes.

Mama hadn't been able to find a better option, though, aside from high chairs, but they were too old for that now, and it got all cramped. Not to mention that it made them too tall to eat at the dining table! In the end, they'd gotten booster seats, but it seemed that they would be outgrowing those again soon, too.

Tsuna couldn't wait to grow up, at least enough that he could sit on a chair without needing a booster seat to see and reach over the table!

"I see, but they might get dirty if they're on the table, right? Why don't we move it to the counter instead?" She hummed, proposing a safer plan considering that the kids could get a little messy in eating sometimes. Oh, they tried —or at least Chiyo did— but they were still just too small to be able to do so without leaving at least a bit of mess afterwards.

"But...They're supposed to be a surprise for everyone!" He 'whispered' voice still clearly audible to everyone, as Chiyo was settled into the chair by his, apparently getting shy again now that they weren't alone anymore.

"Oh, my, then perhaps we should pass them out now so we can put them away so they don't get messed up?" she mused, Iemitsu humming with agreement as he chuckled, cooing at his sister's whining when he folded a napkin into a bib for her as if she was still a baby.

"Papa~!" She complained, too distracted to help Tsuna, though he did know that she didn't mind either way which meant the decision was his.

"Humor your daddy, won't you, Hime-chan?" he pleaded, a look of absolute doting as he 'helped' his pouting little princess.

She was clearly embarrassed (or just unhappy) by the treatment but aside from showing her displeasure in a verbal (and facial) manner, she didn't push him away, simply making a noise similar to a whine as he straightened her clothes and made sure everything was in reach.

"I'm not a baby anymore!" Really, she hadn't been treated this way since they were even younger than they were now! They were already past the baby and toddler stages after all. (Or, well, maybe not past toddler stage if growing out of it.)

"Yes, yes, but you'll always be my little Princess~!" Iemitsu cooed, clearly melting at how adorable his kids were. Not to mention, Tsu-kun's surprise! Oh, that's right. There was still that to look forward to, wasn't there?

Timoteo chuckled from his seat, the cane he kept for show (and which was the civilian replacement for his scepter) leaning against the table by his side where Ganauche had placed it for him. Said Lightning Guardian was already snickering away at the domestic scene that Iemitsu and his family presented, while Brow Nie Jr. helped bring the last of the dishes to the table.

He'd said it before, but it was definitely worth saying again, considering the spread and just how delicious it all seemed.

"Why don't we let Tsunayoshi-kun share his pictures so everyone can eat?" He mused, eyes crinkling with mirth as he caught the amused glimmer in the eyes of his Sun's son despite his usual difficult to read expressions.

"Tsuna's fine," the little boy pouted, not used to being called by his full name when everyone shortened it to something more manageable and recognizable to the child. "Chi-chan's Chi-chan, too!" By which he actually meant the girl was fine with people calling her Chiyo rather than the mouthful that was her own name as well.

"Ah, my apologies, Tsuna," Nono replied indulgently, clearly far better at handling young children than growing teens or adults. (Or rather, his own sons. Then again, they did say that grandparents were better at parenting their grandkids than their actual children, odd as it was.)

"Um! It's okay," he smiled, clearly far more at ease with everyone now that he'd had time to process and get used to their presences.

Chiyo just huffed beside him, trying to reach for the glass of watered down juice (because she was weird and said that regular juice was too sweet for her...but then, Tsuna could understand why, even if he did like things sweeter than his sister did). It had been placed, unfortunately, outside of her reach, and as Iemitsu was grabbing drinks for everyone else (Adult drinks were gross, they smelled weird and were all yucky tasting. Some of them were bitter too! The horror! Adults were so weird), it fell to Ganauche who was closest to her to hand it to her when he noticed.

"Here you go," he smiled, trying not to scare the girl though she seemed startled all the same, staring at him with wide eyes before cautiously accepting the gesture of good will.

"...Thank you," she said, clearly awkward as she stared down at her glass, trying to ignore her own embarrassment by sucking on the straw Mama had put into the glasses for them. The chilliness from the ice made her screw her face a bit, but she got used to it quickly enough.

Ganauche just chuckled, amused by the girl's shyness. "No problem, kid," ruffling the girl's hair gently despite protests (Iemitsu's kids really were cute, he mused, though he wouldn't admit it to his face. The guy was bound to go into overprotective father mode, considering the size of his complex), before turning back to his own drink.

They'd be staying at the house for the rest of the evening, so a single drink would be fine even if he had guard duty. Iemitsu and Brow Nie Jr. would take shifts after him, but it was still better not to drink too much when he was still technically on duty. (Thank the Saints for his tolerance though, or he wouldn't even be able to have that much, regardless of how much he could drink.)

As this little scene played out, though, Iemitsu was cooing over his son, finding him just as adorable if not more so than his (unsurprisingly) less outgoing daughter. As it was, he was adoringly trying to cajole the boy to let him sneak a peek, whilst Nana went to finish up the dessert she'd forgotten about, setting it all back into the refrigerator once she was done and apologizing for the wait.

Tsuna was stubbornly waiting for everyone to be seated before he showed any of it, the atmosphere of warmth and friendly humor making the men relax further than they expected and eliciting some laughs as well. Finally, though, everyone was seated, and Tsuna could unveil he and his sister's efforts!

"We drew welcome pictures!" He said excitedly, holding up the stack to reveal the first of the pictures in it.

It was a pictures of everyone smiling and being friendly, the drawings childish and imperfect, but cute all the same.

"See? There's Nono-jii-chan," he started, pointing at the one with gray hair and a colorful shirt, "Brown-nii," this one eliciting a few snickers and a rueful expression on the green haired medic, "Gano-nii, tou-chan, Mama, and us!" he finished, each of the unproportionate figures labeled carefully in what Nana would recognize as her daughter's writing. "Chi-chan wrote everyone's names, since she's better at writing," he nodded, pronouncing some of the names a bit off, but close enough considering his age.

"We even did one for everyone each!" The next few pictures being passed out (or around) to everyone as he named them. "This one's for Brown-nii," he said, passing a sheet with mainly green and yellow scribbles, though it was nicer than the group picture that had been 100% Tsuna's drawing.

This one was clearly a joint effort, with Chiyo doing most of the outlining and Tsuna carefully drawing as inside the lines as he could along with some doodling in the background. A somewhat childish chibified caricature of Brow Nie's face drawn with a smile, next to Tsuna and Chiyo's own smiling faces. There was a green clover with the other's name painstakingly drawn in katakana, basically addressing the image to him. The rest were similar if different in what little symbol (courtesy of Tsuna) was next to the addressed person's name, and chibi faces of the kids and the named person in as close a color as they could get with the crayons they had. It was clear to see who colored what by how hard the crayon had been pressed as well as how neatly it was done.

"And one for Gano-nii," he continued, passing it to his sister to hand to brunette with bleached bangs since she was closer, before continue and passing the next one to his other side, since its recipient was on the other side, "Nono-jii-chan's," he continued, "and Mama and Papa's!" he grinned, the two having decided to just doodle their immediate family on one sheet for their parents, the character 'for Mama & Papa' written in Tsuna's childish scrawl this time, after practicing a little.

(There were practice sheets still sitting on the living room coffee table that Nana would probably end up storing safely away later. Tsuna would be absolutely horrified when he found out she'd kept all of their childish little scrawls. Thankfully, though, she wouldn't just bring them out all willy nilly, because they were apparently keepsakes…. No wonder their attic was so full, he'd muse, turning to sister to commiserate only to find her digging through the box of keepsakes with interest.

(Betrayal! And from his own twin no less! He'd grumble, earning a roll of the eye and amusement from said betrayer. Tsu-nii could be so silly sometimes…)

The men all thanked the kids and cooed (or commented positively) over their 'presents', an embarrassed if proud and happy Tsuna and a shy if embarrassed Chiyo taking the complements and thanks as they came. One sitting lower in her seat as she tried to pretend everything was okay as she sipped at her drink (as slowly as possible to had an excuse not to have to face anyone), while the other positively preened, beaming at the positive attention.

Nothing was ringing any bells, so that meant that everyone really was happy with their present.

And that made Tsuna happy, reinforcing the idea of positive familial affections. Especially as their silly father cooed and cried in joy at how sweet and utterly adorable his kids were. And so talented, too! Really, such an amazing present!

The man would have the image photocopied later (in triplicate, with copies of said copies each just to be safe ) before giving his wife half the copies for safe keeping, deciding to stick the original onto the fridge while they were there before taking it with him when they finally left upon Nana's indulgent urging.

Really, his family was the absolute best . Perfection. And no one could convince him otherwise. No one .

(Their Papa was so weird, the kids would think, embarrassed but happy with the positive attention from their ever absent father while he was still there.)

* * *

 **End Notes** : All I can say is that my Chibi!Tsu-Muse decided to demand attention for the most part, so I blame the extended chapter/family fluff on the little guy.

So go ahead and blame him for all the extra childhood content.

Go on.

I dare you.

Finally, today's summary:

Chapter 4: "A Child's Thoughts" (Iemitsu's Return, Part II —or: Childhood Arc, Part III)

The kids mispronounce some names and compare what they've noticed about the group.

Tsuna comes up with an idea, and Chiyo gets drawn in even as she tries to figure out why Papa's 'friends' seem so familiar. Meanwhile, Iemitsu's been away for a long time. So he has a lot to make up for...mostly in the department of doting on his wife and kids. Tsuna's excited...but Chiyo's not so amused. (She's not a baby anymore, damn it!)

* * *

 **Translation Notes** :

None for this Chapter, I think, but I'll leave this here anyway, just in case. (If I missed anything I'll just revise/edit it back in.)

Other Notes:

Brow Nie vs Brownie/Brow-nii — Brow Nie is actually pronounced Brow and Nieh or Nea, dependent on your spelling preference. The kids mistake it for a weird pronunciation of Brownie, and thus christen him "Brow-nii/Brown-nii" which sounds pretty much the same, and, well...which is also just all kinds of bad punning, lol.

Ganoush and/or Gano-nii — One is basically just a different spelling but same pronunciation for the most part ga-no-u-shu or ga-no-u-shi. And then a completely random and totally indiscreet game reference (from a game I don't even play, tbh), Ganon. Gano-nii, Ganon-nii. Yeah, lame, I know

Anywho, gonna go back to sleep now. Sorry if I didn't respond to messages, I'll get to that tomorrow along with continuing with trying to get the next chapter typed up when I have the time... Thanks again to my two lovely reviewers so far...!


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